GENOCIDE IN GAZA
Dimensions of an Unfolding Catastrophe
Teach-In Session 15 - January 8, 2024
TEACHING RESOURCES
This teach-in aims to examine and discuss Israel's apartheid state, the catastrophe in Gaza, regional reverberations, the role of the Israel lobby in contemporary U.S. politics, and what Gaza's future might look like.
John J. Mearsheimer is the R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, where he has taught since 1982. He graduated from West Point (1970), has a PhD in political science from Cornell University (1981), and has written extensively about security issues and international politics. Among his seven books, The Tragedy of Great Power Politics (2001, 2014) won the Joseph Lepgold Book Prize and has been translated into nine languages; The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy (with Stephen M. Walt, 2007), made the New York Times bestseller list and has been translated into twenty-five languages; and The Great Delusion: Liberal Ideals and International Realities (2018), won the 2019 Best Book of the Year Award from the Valdai Discussion Conference, Moscow and has been translated into nine languages. His latest book is How States Think: The Rationality of Foreign Policy (with Sebastian Rosato, 2023). He has also written numerous articles and op-eds that have appeared in International Security, The Economist, The London Review of Books, Foreign Affairs, The Financial Times, and The New York Times. In 2003, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in 2020, he won the James Madison Award, which is given once every three years by the American Political Science Association to “an American political scientist who has made a distinguished scholarly contribution to political science.”
Bassam Haddad is Founding Director of the Middle East and Islamic Studies Program and Associate Professor at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. He is the author of Business Networks in Syria: The Political Economy of Authoritarian Resilience (Stanford University Press, 2011) and co-editor of A Critical Political Economy of the Middle East (Stanford University Press, 2021). Bassam is Co-Founder/Editor of Jadaliyya Ezine and Executive Director of the Arab Studies Institute. He serves as Founding Editor of the Arab Studies Journal and the Knowledge Production Project. He is co-producer/director of the award-winning documentary film, About Baghdad, and director of the acclaimed series Arabs and Terrorism. Bassam is Executive Producer of Status Podcast Channel and Director of the Middle East Studies Pedagogy Initiative (MESPI). He received MESA's Jere L. Bacharach Service Award in 2017 for his service to the profession. Currently, Bassam is working on his second Syria book titled Understanding The Syrian Tragedy: Regime, Opposition, Outsiders (forthcoming, Stanford University Press).
Lisa Wedeen is the Mary R. Morton Professor of Political Science and the College and the Co-Director of the Chicago Center for Contemporary Theory at the University of Chicago. She is also Associate Faculty in Anthropology and the Co-Editor of the University of Chicago Book Series, “Studies in Practices of Meaning.” Her publications include three books: Ambiguities of Domination: Politics, Rhetoric, and Symbols in Contemporary Syria (1999; with a new preface, 2015); Peripheral Visions: Publics, Power and Performance in Yemen (2008); and Authoritarian Apprehensions: Ideology, Judgment, and Mourning in Syria (2019). Among her articles are the following: “Conceptualizing ‘Culture’: Possibilities for Political Science” (2002); “Concepts and Commitments in the Study of Democracy” (2004), “Ethnography as an Interpretive Enterprise” (2009), “Reflections on Ethnographic Work in Political Science” (2010), “Ideology and Humor in Dark Times: Notes from Syria” (2013), and “Scientific Knowledge, Liberalism, and Empire: American Political Science in the Modern Middle East” (2016). She is the recipient of the David Collier Mid-Career Achievement Award and an NSF fellowship, and is currently completing an edited volume with Joseph Masco, entitled Conspiracy/Theory.
Bassam Haddad is Founding Director of the Middle East and Islamic Studies Program and Associate Professor at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. He is the author of Business Networks in Syria: The Political Economy of Authoritarian Resilience (Stanford University Press, 2011) and co-editor of A Critical Political Economy of the Middle East (Stanford University Press, 2021). Bassam is Co-Founder/Editor of Jadaliyya Ezine and Executive Director of the Arab Studies Institute. He serves as Founding Editor of the Arab Studies Journal and the Knowledge Production Project. He is co-producer/director of the award-winning documentary film, About Baghdad, and director of the acclaimed series Arabs and Terrorism. Bassam is Executive Producer of Status Podcast Channel and Director of the Middle East Studies Pedagogy Initiative (MESPI). He received MESA's Jere L. Bacharach Service Award in 2017 for his service to the profession. Currently, Bassam is working on his second Syria book titled Understanding The Syrian Tragedy: Regime, Opposition, Outsiders (forthcoming, Stanford University Press).
Lisa Wedeen is the Mary R. Morton Professor of Political Science and the College and the Co-Director of the Chicago Center for Contemporary Theory at the University of Chicago. She is also Associate Faculty in Anthropology and the Co-Editor of the University of Chicago Book Series, “Studies in Practices of Meaning.” Her publications include three books: Ambiguities of Domination: Politics, Rhetoric, and Symbols in Contemporary Syria (1999; with a new preface, 2015); Peripheral Visions: Publics, Power and Performance in Yemen (2008); and Authoritarian Apprehensions: Ideology, Judgment, and Mourning in Syria (2019). Among her articles are the following: “Conceptualizing ‘Culture’: Possibilities for Political Science” (2002); “Concepts and Commitments in the Study of Democracy” (2004), “Ethnography as an Interpretive Enterprise” (2009), “Reflections on Ethnographic Work in Political Science” (2010), “Ideology and Humor in Dark Times: Notes from Syria” (2013), and “Scientific Knowledge, Liberalism, and Empire: American Political Science in the Modern Middle East” (2016). She is the recipient of the David Collier Mid-Career Achievement Award and an NSF fellowship, and is currently completing an edited volume with Joseph Masco, entitled Conspiracy/Theory.
- Teach-In: Regional Responses to the War on Gaza
- Gaza War Chronicles - Session 16 - From October 7 to the Hague (Part 1)
- Gaza War Chronicles — Session 17: From October 7 to the Hague (Part 2)
- Gaza War Chronicles: Genocide and Justice with Mouin Rabbani
- Find more teach-ins on Palestine: Gaza in Context Teach-Ins
FULL TEACH-IN
|
|
CONTENTS
|
"The real problem here is not that people don't know what the [Israeli] lobby are doing... the problem is that most people are afraid to speak up about the [Israeli] lobby." - John Mearsheimer
TEACHING GUIDE
In this Teach-In, John J. Mearsheimer addresses Israel’s apartheid state, the catastrophe in Gaza, regional reverberations, and the role of the Israel lobby in contemporary U.S. politics. What is unfolding in Gaza and beyond, and what might the future hold?
- What are the effects of lobbying in US politics? Is lobbying a form of corruption?
- How much does Biden’s particular affinity/attachment to Israel matter given that all modern US presidents have favorable attitudes towards Israel? How much does a politician’s opinion about Israel matter in political environments heavily influenced by the Israeli lobby/where supporting Israel is a prerequisite for holding office?
- What could help bridge the gap between public and government opinions?
- What causes or influences gaps between public and government opinions?
- Why does the United States government support Israel so much? Why is the Israeli lobby so influential? What cased this political ecosystem?
- 1.Documentary/Short Film: Create a short documentary that explores the historical and contemporary opposition to Zionism within Jewish communities, as well as the impact of conflating anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism. Integrate reliable primary and secondary sources in your research, and utilize your storyboarding as a creative outlet.
- Impact of Media Representation on Public Perception of the Genocide on Gaza: Create and conduct a series of surveys to gauge the public consensus on the Israeli occupation. Ensure that you are able to correlate these views with the variation of media consumed by each participant and examine whether exposure to different media narratives leads to greater disparities in opinions.
- Collaborative Workshop and Debate Series: Help redefine colonial narratives by organizing a series of debates and workshops with your peers that aim to address the various narratives surrounding Zionism, anti-Semitism, and Palestinian identity. The goal should be to foster healthy, productive, and nuanced dialogue and encourage critical thinking on these complex sociological issues.
SEGMENTS
Current Events Shaping How the Israeli Lobby is ViewedJohn Mearsheimer discusses his 2007 book’s relevance about the influence of Israeli lobby in US politics.
|
On the Israeli Lobby Influencing DiscourseOur guest explains the gap between public and government perceptions of Israel and how the Israeli lobby influences this gap and the overall discourse about Israel.
|
The Relationship Between the Concentration of Money & the LobbyJohn Mearsheimer explains how wealthy university donors passionate about Israel can use the threat of withdrawing their funds to influence discourse on college campuses.
|
The Role of the U.S. and Biden Administration in the War on GazaJohn Mearsheimer explains the US complicity in genocide, why Israel and the US have been so critical of the ICJ case, and Joe Biden’s particular passion/attachment to Israel that differs from other American presidents.
|
The Dichotomy Between American an Israeli Desires for EscalationWhy does the US want to avoid spreading conflict into a regional war but Israel wants to escalate? This clip discusses the different concerns and motives between both parties.
|
Vertical Divider
|
SOUNDBITES
The Fear of Confronting the Israeli Lobby |
The Potential Complicity of the US in Genocide in the South Africa vs. Israel ICJ Case |
Israeli Desires for Escalation and Ethnic Cleansing |
